


a study in flower bouquets

by moonlightboyz



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam Parrish Loves Ronan Lynch, Alive Noah Czerny, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Adam Parrish, Bisexual Joseph Kavinsky, Drug Use, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Ronan Lynch, Implied Sexual Content, Joseph Kavinsky Lives, Joseph Kavinsky is His Own Warning, M/M, Minor Joseph Kavinsky/Prokopenko, Minor Joseph Kavinsky/Ronan Lynch, Minor Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent, Mutual Masturbation, Noah Czerny & Ronan Lynch Friendship - Freeform, One Night Stands, POV Adam Parrish, POV Ronan Lynch, Richard Gansey III is a Good Friend, Ronan Lynch & Blue Sargent Friendship, Ronan Lynch Angst, Ronan Lynch Loves Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch is Bad at Feelings, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Strangers to Lovers, Street Racing, adam parrish is working at a flower shop, drinking alcohol, no beta reading we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:26:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24927664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlightboyz/pseuds/moonlightboyz
Summary: Adam works at a flower shop to earn enough money for his scholarship. Ronan runs into him after a hard day. Even though they had a rough start they eventually start to become friends. And what begins as a soft romance soon becomes something serious. But then Ronan's world starts to break into pieces when his little brother Matthew (and Declan) moves away. Now it shows who is really there for him when he hits the ground.I'm really bad at summarizing my own work, I'm so sorry. But I promise this is a really cool and sweet flower shop au with just a little angst. Also you'll get a lot of the Gangsey and that's always a win.
Relationships: Joseph Kavinsky/Ronan Lynch, Richard Gansey III/Blue Sargent, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	1. chapter 1

It wasn’t Adam’s only job, but it was the one he loved the most. After stressing the whole week, trying to get to all his appointments in time and working until the sun was long gone, working at the flower shop was like vacation. Soft music played through the speakers and the buzzing sound of the bees was so calming that he sometimes forgot that he was working. The costumers were all super friendly and kind. All too often he got to listen to one of their cheesy love stories, which he loved listening to. In return he told them the meaning of certain flowers and how they would express their feelings right. Adam knew a lot about flowers. Not only their meaning but also which flowers complement one another. So all in all working at the flower shop was like a trip to the Bahamas. Peaceful. Quiet. Relaxing. Not that Adam knew what the Bahamas were like.  
Adam had never been to the Bahamas but he swore himself that one day, when he had enough money, he would fly there. Just once. It was a goal he had to reach and he was working hard for it. But with all his other jobs and studying for his degree it wasn’t that easy. It was lonely, exhausting and hard. He pushed himself too far to even notice that he disconnected with his friends and now it was too late to just call them and hang out again. Or at least that’s how he felt about it. Adam constantly told himself that one day he would have a better life, with friends and people who see him as equal and not another investment. Just someone who they needed to save to calm their minds.  
It was around the time the sun decided to paint the sky a nice, dreamy lilac when Adam closed the shop. He stood outside for a few minutes and just watched the sunset. He tried to soak up all the calming and bright feelings he felt today and bottled them up for exhausting night studies. Then he made his way through the crowded streets back home.  
— — — —

Ronan saw it coming. He saw the boy miles away. He looked like his soul had left his body. Just tumbling down the street. Yeah and maybe that’s exactly why he kept going. That boy was an easy target where he could leave all his anger.  
Ronan was filled with rage ever since he had left his brother’s apartment. It wanted to spill out off him and now it would get its chance. It wasn’t fair to the stranger but Ronan didn’t care. Just like Declan didn’t care when he told him that he would take Matthew with him to Washington D.C. He knew he could still visit them but Matthew was also his brother, his anchor, and Declan couldn’t just decide to take him away like that. It was unfair and just typically Declan.  
“It’ll be easier for Matthew”, Declan said,” and it’s not like you could take care of him anyway. You live together with Gansey, if I remind you. And even there you are barely home! What would change if I left Matthew here? Nothing! It’s better if I take him with me.”  
Ronan knew the facts. He could never take care of Matthew. Not in the current state that he’s living in. Matthew would stay with him regardless but it just wasn’t right. But even though Ronan knew this, he just couldn’t let go of his younger brother.  
“But he goes to school here”, Ronan insisted. It was a weak argument.  
“His friends are all here.” Even weaker.  
“And I’m sure he will find new friends in D.C. It’s decided, Ronan. Stop arguing!”  
Ronan let out a noise from deep down his throat. If looks could kill, Declan wouldn’t have his arrogant head on his shoulders. Ronan kissed Matthew’s hair as the later said:”You’ll come to my goodbye party, right?”  
Not in the mood to answer, he had left the apartment. On the staircase he regretted that decision and wrote Matthew a short text message, saying: “ofc I’ll be there.”  
Then he made sure he got out of the building before he got into a physical fight with Declan. He could still feel his body shaking from all the repressed feelings.  
But Ronan rather let out his anger on some stranger than later on Gansey. He didn’t want to fight with one of his only friends again and especially not if it was Gansey. That boy was just too kind to him and definitely deserved more than this sorry excuse of man that Ronan was.  
Ronan picked up his pace just waiting for the other boy to run into him. Everything inside of him tickled. Ready to explode. And just like that the Ronan-bomb went off.  
“Can’t you see where you going, you unbearable ass dandelion!?”  
It felt good to let his anger speak but Ronan regretted it soon after he saw the innocent face of the boy, who looked like he fell out of the clouds as he tried to catch himself so that he wouldn’t fall to the ground. Crashing into Ronan was like crashing into a wall. His heart ached as he looked into those big indigo eyes. Almost the same eyes his little brother had.  
“Sorry, I didn’t-“  
The boy tried to stutter an apology. Ronan eyed him from head to toe not listening to what he said. The boy was wearing a green apron over a black shirt. His eyes stopped when he spotted the name of a shop and a little name tag on the left side that said ‘Adam P.’  
“Just forget it! Open your eyes next time, fuckwheel!”  
Ronan didn’t wait for an answer. He just left the poor boy in full shook. Ronan knew damn well that he was the one who should apologize. But now it was too late. Or maybe not? The clothes the boy - Adam - wore where from the little flower shop down the street.  
“Maybe i could visit him there and apologize”, Ronan thought. But then he mentally slapped himself.  
“I’m not a fucking peach pussy. The boy already forgot me. Why would I care?”  
— — — —

Adam kept thinking about the encounter with that boy. He just wouldn’t leave his mind. Adam thought about him in class. The bold head and strong cheek bones. He thought about him at work. The black leather jacket and white shirt. He thought about him when he should have done his assignment. Dark eyelashes and waterfall eyes. Adam thought about the boy while buying groceries. Strange insults and a hurt look on his face. Yeah he even thought about him in the shower and before going to bed. The boy haunted Adam’s mind and it drove him insane. He told himself to forget him. But then he thought about all the things he could have told him instead of that stupid apology. Up to the point where he pictured their next encounter and how he would call him dump names and make him apologize. Adam hated himself even more that week.  
— — — —

It had passed a week ever since Ronan slammed into that boy. It’s been a week since his anger had lessened with every passing day. It’s been a week and Ronan should be fine.  
He sat on the floor of the living room in the apartment he shared with Gansey. He skipped through a book he should read for class but he couldn’t bring himself to even read one sentence. On the couch his best friend cuddled his long time girlfriend Blue. Whispering sweet nothings in her ear, while she’s knitting a new pair of over knees. Completely unnecessary, if you asked Ronan. Blue already owned like 500 of these. When would she have the time to wear all of them? Ronan had just told them about Adam, involuntarily. He couldn’t even remember how exactly it came to that conversation. He probably complained about Declan again. He was still on edge when he thought about Matthew moving away. But this wasn’t the topic of their talk this time.  
“If it bothers you some much, Ronan, then why don’t you just visit that Alex-Boy and apologize?”  
“Adam.”  
“Okay, then Adam. But that didn’t answer my question”, Gansey said, shaking his head and kissing Blue’s cheek. Ronan could puke.  
“Isn’t it weird if I just walk in to that shop and say: ‘sorry about last time. I know I’m an asshole.’?” Ronan asked.  
“Well, to me it sounds just right. I don’t know what the problem is.”  
“The problem is, I’m not supposed to know where he works or even his name! I would come off as a stalker.”  
Ronan closed the book. The odds were pretty low that he would read it.  
Blue stopped knitting. She did the thing with her lips that she always did when she thought.  
“Buy me flowers!”, she let out with a breath.  
“Why would I buy you flowers? You have a boyfriend who can do that for you.“  
Gansey had the same confused look on his face as Ronan had. Gansey opened his mouth, ready to tell Blue that he would buy her all the flowers she wanted when Blue continues:“Go to the shop where he works and buy flowers. Just act like you didn’t know he works there and when you see him apologize. And because I gave you this amazing idea, I get the flowers. I want 10 white Lilies.“  
She started knitting again. A sign that the conversation was over. Ronan had his solution and there was nothing left to talk about.  
“Thanks, bro.“  
He managed to say, stood up and left the room. On the door to his own room he could hear Gansey say: “You are such a beautiful genius.” Followed with sounds of, supposedly, wet kisses. He stopped in his tracks not in the mood to listen to his friends’ sex noises., he grabbed his jacket with his car keys and almost teleported himself out of the apartment.  
— — — —

Ronan had promised Gansey not to race anymore. But after this awful week and knowing that Matthew will move to Washington in less than a month, he drove to the secret hot spot naturally. From far away he could already see the white Mitsubishi. Next to it four black cars. Like knights surrounding their king.  
The streetlights reflected on the shiny surfaces, making them look like diamonds. Ronan stopped the engine of his BMW right in front of Kavinsky’s Mitsubishi. He slowly pulled himself out of his car and slammed the door shut. From the Mitsubishi came loud electro beats that filled the night. All four doors of the white car opened at the same time but only Kavinsky stepped out into the dark night.  
“Is the princess finally allowed to leave the castle?”, Kavinsky teasingly asked, half smiling. “Or does your girlfriend not know that you are here?”  
“Shut up, K.”  
Now Kavinsky’s friends left the car standing all behind him and crossing their armes over their chests. It was an odd look. And just like their cars, Kavinsky was the only one wearing white.  
“I thought we would street race but if you rather talk about how sexual frustrated you are I’m gonna leave.”  
Ronan probably should have left regardless. Kavinsky let out a loud sounding like a laugh but it was too short to be one.  
“Sure, but only if your poor heart can cope with the fact that you’ll lose.”  
“You wish! I beat your rusty dirt cart any day!”, Ronan snorted as he got back into his car.  
Through the windscreen he could see how Kavinsky gave his friends a sign. The all left with their cars, searching the the streets for cops. Only Prokopenko stayed, saying something to Kavinsky. Ronan became inpatient. He pressed the car horn and finally Kavinsky got in his car too. They drove down the street and stopped for a red traffic light. Ronan knew these streets like he knew the way to his old home, the barns. It was all too familiar to him. When the traffic light would turn orange he had 6 seconds. His fingers tickled around the wheel. His heart pumped so much blood through his veins. He could hear the rush in his ears. He was ready for this. He had beaten Kavinsky plenty of times.  
The lights turned orange and the engines started to howl. Ronan counted the second as he put one hand on the gear stick. Four, three, two. Green.  
The cars slid over the dark concrete as if it was nothing. Ronan shifted his car into the next gear at the first intersection. They were still next to each other, trying hard to surpass the other. At the next intersection Ronan listen to the old engine of his BMW and shifted in to the next gear at the right time. The BMW now ahead of the Mitsubishi, getting faster. Kavinsky always made the same mistake. He would never listen to his car and that’s why it was so easy for Ronan to win. A smile creeped over his face. He felt so free. When he looked into the car mirror he could see Kavinsky showing him his middle finger.  
God, Ronan loved the sweet taste of victory. He didn’t stop his car once and drove on full speed through the pitch black night back to the Monmouth.  
— — — —

It was the following Monday when Ronan decided it would be time to apologize to Adam.  
Well it wasn’t really his decision. He was more or less forced by Gansey after he tried to, yet again, justify that it would be too awkward to apologize.  
“God, Ronan! I will not talk to you until you apologize to Alex,” Gansey said. He searched for something eatable in their refrigerator. Ronan sat next to him on the toilet. He held the door of the refrigerator that would close itself if he didn’t. Even though they both had enough money they couldn’t bring themselves to buy a new one. There were just too many memories surrounding this beloved red furniture.  
“His name is Adam! And-“ Ronan started but was interrupted by Gansey’s awful off time humming of an old the killers song.  
“Okay, I’ll do it. Now shut up! You sound like a dying rhino!”  
It was silent in the room. Just for a second. Then the two boys bursted out laughing. To Gansey’s surprise Ronan actually went to school with him that day, which happened rarely so he didn’t ask him why. But know it was afternoon and Ronan figured that Adam probably still went to school too. It was only logical to visit the shop in the afternoon.  
He entered the shop like he owned that place. He looked around a few times and tried to spot Adam in the chaos of flowers. The only other person he saw, was a tiny woman with bright pink hair that would fall over her shoulders.  
“Hey! Can I help you?”, she asked.  
“Ehm, I get 10 white Lilies”  
The girl nodded with a smile on her lips and turned around to get the flowers.  
“Are the flowers for someone special?”  
“No.”  
Ronan wasn’t here to have a nice little conversation with some average girl who thinks he might want her. He was here, against all his principles, to apologize.  
But it didn’t seem like Adam was in the shop. Something tickled inside of him. Was it anger? Disappointed? Ronan was unsure but it made his hand jump and he hated it. The girl watched him while she counted the flowers.  
“I get 10$.”  
Ronan gave her his card and asked:”Does Adam work today?”  
She looked up from the monitor. Ronan couldn’t read her face and he decided that he didn’t care.  
“He only works on Fridays”, she finally said,”Should I tell him something?”  
“No.”  
Ronan took his card and the flowers and walked to the door.  
With the door handle in his hand he said:”Thanks.”  
He threw the flowers on to the passenger seat. His hands landed on the wheel, soon followed by his head. He wasn’t quite sure if he was embarrassed or angry. Or both.  
He let out a growling noise and lifted himself back up. With loud music he drove to the Fox Way 300.  
— — — —

Ronan always wondered how so many women could live under one roof without any of them looking like they have been involved in a fight only seconds before he arrived. It was a mystery to him. But it seemed to work in the Fox Way 300. Maybe it was the only place on earth were this could possibly happen. Persephone opened the door for him and whispered something into his ear that he rather forgot than actually believed. It smelled like burned lavender and basilica in the kitchen. Maura offered him a summer-sun-good-mood tea but he wasn’t interested in choking on ginger and sage.  
“They are in the backyard,” Calla told him and he hurried out of the witches kitchen.  
Ronan found them under the big tree. Them were Blue and Gansey. Yet again tangled up in each other and endlessly kissing. He cleared his throat and they only stop to give him a short nod.  
“Here your flowers.”  
Ronan tossed them to Blue.  
“How did it went?”, she asked and now he had their full attention.  
“Yeah, what did Alex say?”  
“God, Gansey! For the last time his name is Adam!”, Ronan snorts,”Nothing happened. He only works on Friday.”  
“So you try it again on Friday? Because if not, I’m sorry but these will be the last words I will say to you,” Gansey laughed.  
“We’ll see.”  
Ronan managed to smile.  
“Well, I see you later, you insufferable gnome.”  
That made them all giggle and Ronan left his friends. He wasn’t in for another round of them having dry sex in front of him.  
He drove around the town. He didn’t really know where he was going until he saw the red Mustang in the parking lot. Noah was there, too. He was lovingly cleaning his “baby“. Ronan knew Noah for a long time now. They met at one of the drag races. To Ronan’s displeasure Noah was just as good with cars as he was. Noah has beaten him once or twice (or even more but Ronan would never admit that). They bonded over their love for cars and have been friends even since. No one cared that Noah was already 24, had studied management and business, and now worked as event manager. Or, well Ronan wasn’t sure what his actual job at the Aglionby Academy was. He was barley there to know. But that didn’t change the strong bond of their friendship. Even Gansey liked Noah, it was actually hard to not like him. Noah literally sparkled with joy and energy. He had so many ideas and dreams under his silver hair that Ronan wondered how his head hadn’t exploded yet. He stopped his car and walked over to Noah. From far away he could already hear loud music playing through the speakers. It was blink-182, as usual. Ronan’s mood lifted automatically. Noah was the only one who shared his, as Ronan would say, excellent music taste.  
“Hey! Haven’t seen you for awhile!“, greeted Noah him and let the yellow sponge drop into a bucket filled with bubbles.  
The soaked shirt defined Noah’s slim body in a way that Ronan had to force himself to look anywhere but his chest. He wondered when Noah had ther time to work out so much. His friend was basical always out and planning something or discovering new places. All to often Gansey would tag along and wher Gansey was there were Blue and Ronan too. It's like they all were their own solar system, spinning around Gansey and each other. They built their own galaxy if they had to and disappear. Ronan let his eyes rest on the wide smile on Noah’s face.  
“I’ve been busy.“  
“With what? Annoying Gansey?“  
Noah‘s laughter was pure gold. It flew through the air and made it hard to breathe. It stuck to Ronan's lunges and he felt like he was choking on happiness. He slung one arm around Ronan and patted his back.  
“I actually didn’t plan on visiting you,“ confessed Ronan.  
“Now you’re hurting my feelings, Mister Lynch.“  
Noah dramatically put a hand on his chest and sighed.  
“You idiot,” Ronan laughed but continued,”I guess I had too much on my mind and I just ended up here.”  
He shrugged his shoulders.  
“Oh, so do you want to talk about it? Or should we just drive down the interstate listing to blink and sum 41 while you forget everything?”  
Noah looked concerned and as much as Ronan wanted to tell him everything, he first needed to get his mind off. Even if it was only for a couple of minutes.  
“The later sounds good.”  
“Well I don’t know why I even washed my baby. Next time call me when you are in need of an emergency music car ride through the landscape.”  
Noah pushed the bucket away with his foot and hopped behind the wheel. Ronan took the passenger seat.  
They drove around for a long time screaming the lyrics to their favourite songs and laughed. Ronan felt okay. He felt better than he normally did on a Monday and he was thankful for that. After awhile Noah held the car next to an open field and searched for two coke cans on the backseats. He handed one over to Ronan and said:”Now talk. What’s wrong?”  
Ronan took a sip of his coke and a shiver went through his bones. It was lukewarm and sparkled awfully in his throat.  
“It’s Declan. He’s moving to Washington D.C.”  
“We all knew that would happen someday. Shouldn’t you be happy? I mean your least favourite brother is leaving the town. So why are you looking like it’s raining on your birthday?”  
“He’s taking Matthew with him,” Ronan said. They both took a sip from their coke.  
“Shit.”  
Ronan nodded.  
“And to top this whole thing, I let out my anger on some boy. I couldn’t care less about it but it somehow he won’t leave my mind. Now I’m making a fool of myself trying to apologize to him. My life couldn’t be worse.”  
Noah let out a deep breath.  
“Shit.”  
They sat like that for a long time. Just quietly listening to the music. They didn’t talk about anything afterwards. They sipped on their warm coke and watched the clouds pass by. Both boys caught up in their own thoughts. Ronan appreciate this. The silence. Sometimes it was better to just let out all your problems to someone who didn’t try to find a solution. Someone who just listened and shared the pain with you for awhile.  
— — — —

Adam sat in front of his laptop. It was one of the only days that school actually finished early. Adam was correcting an essay on Alexander Hamilton that he had written the other day. Now that his roommate wasn’t here it was quite enough for him to concentrate. The sun fell through the milky blue curtains and dazzled him. It was annoying. Distracting. Adam got up and pulled on one of the curtains. He’s eyes drifted to the little park in front of the dorm and he wished to go outside. But after he finished his homework he had to work at the car repair job. He shouldn’t be so sad about it. He was good with cars. Fixing them was just a simple task for him. Cars were way easier to deal with than people. You saw the problem and you fixed it. There were no “buts” and “nos” stopping you. But sometimes he wished to be a normal teenager. Not someone who had to work five different jobs to pay for this expensive school. He wished his parents would care enough for him and were rich. He wished that he didn’t have to depend on this scholarship so much. He wished he didn’t have to write straight As all the time to get in to a good university and the next scholarship. He wished to be one of the boys who just lived.  
He sighed. Nothing changed from wishing.  
The moment he turned away from the window his eyes captured a bold head. Wasn’t that the boy from last week? His head spun around, but he couldn’t see the boy anymore. There were only trees and false hope waiting for him outside. Adam probably started to imagine things. It was time that he stopped thinking about that awful boy and got back to Alexander Hamilton.  
One last time he let the sun shine one his face, allowing himself to wish. Then he turned away from the window, back to reality.  
— — — —

Ronan was so over it already, but he was determined to apologize to Adam. He would go into the flower shop say “sorry for last time” and then leave. It was as simple as that. He had done this before. Well not really since Adam wasn’t there, but it was the same, technically. Ronan let out all the air from his lungs.  
He couldn’t believe that he would actually do this. He pulled out the key of his car and walked over to the little shop.  
How bad could it be? It’s just some boy after all and after this Ronan would never see him again. He opened the door. Now it was too late to go back.  
Slowly he made his way through the tiny flower shop. He already saw Adam when he entered the shop. He read something that was lying in front of him. His mind went blank for a second then he remembered Blue’s words again.  
“Hi, I get 10 white Lilies,” Ronan said in his usual ignorant tone.  
Adam looked up from the book with a smile, but as soon as he recognized Ronan’s face his smile froze into a bewildered grimace.  
Adam whispered one word: “You.”  
That was all Ronan needed. Now was the time to apologize.  
“Look, uhm, about last time, I’m sorry. I know I’m an asshole and I was wrong.”  
They stared into the others eyes. Ronan was afraid he had broken Adam. It was suddenly so silent in the little shop, even the music had stopped.  
“You-“  
Ronan rose one of his eyebrows.  
“You idiotic ass looking rat, pig,” finished Adam his sentence. He looked pretty proud of his insult.  
Ronan nodded his head.  
“I guess I deserve this.”  
Now it was Adam who nodded his head.  
“Maybe we can start new? I’m Ronan.”  
He forced himself to a smile. It looked more like a tragic try than anything near a smile. But Adam didn’t seem to notice. He sighed.  
“Okay, I’m Adam as you can see.”  
He pointed with his finger to the little name tag.  
“Cool. I heard you only work here on Fridays. Your colleague told me. Is this your idea of an adventurous start to the weekend?”  
“No, of course not.”  
It seemed as if Ronan had hit a sore spot. Now he wasn’t going to leave him alone until he knew the truth. The truth was the only thing that was holy to Ronan. He couldn’t stand it if someone lied or only told him half of the story.  
“So, what?”, he asked.  
Adam closed his eyes. Maybe he was fighting with himself, who knew.  
“God, I need the money. My scholarship doesn’t provide me enough money. I still have to pay for the dorm room and some other stuff.”  
“And if you work here you earn enough money?”  
“No! I have other jobs, too. I don’t know why you would care,” hissed Adam.  
Ronan had gone one step too far, as always.  
“That’s cool. So you are financially independent of your parents.”  
Adam’s face softened and a proud smile flashed over his lips.  
“Yeah, in contrast to all the wankers on the Aglionby, I am probably the only one who really makes an effort for his school education.”  
These words should hurt Ronan since he was also a student of the Aglionby. But who were he kidding he wasn’t better than any of the other boys on that school. He was even worse.  
“I’m a prime example of these wankers,” he said.  
“Oh, sorry I-“  
“No, don’t apologize. You are right. But you are cool. I hope you make it out of here and become someone great.”  
Someone that I will never become, Ronan wanted to add. He already knew that he disappointed his father. He would turn around in his grave if he could see Ronan now.  
“So you are on the Aglionby, too?”, asked Adam.  
Ronan nodded, not able to do more.  
“Cool. Maybe I’ll see you there?”  
It’s a simple question but to Ronan it meant a lot. He had never felt like anyone would want him at the Aglionby, except Gansey. But that wasn’t enough for Ronan to attend school everyday. But this, yeah, maybe Adam could be enough.  
“Let’s say Monday after class? Where is your dorm? We could meet there?” Ronan asked.  
“It’s the one in front of the park. But, maybe, we should meet at park. My roommate can be a pain in the ass.”  
“Sure. See you on Monday.”  
This time Ronan didn’t need to force himself to a smile. Adam smiled back and the world seemed okay.  
— — — —

When Ronan arrived at the Monmouth Gansey, Blue and Noah were playing Mario Card and it seemed like Noah was winning.  
“Stop with the Bananas, asshole!” Gansey said frustrated and let his controller fall into his lap,”I give up. I can’t believe you betrayed me like that.”  
“I won! Ahaha!” Noah stood up and danced around the couch, throwing his hands in the air.  
“I can’t believe you’ve done this,” Gansey mumbled. He sunk into the couch so that Ronan could only see the top of his head.  
“Stop being such a wimp,” said Blue,” Man up and win the next round, you baby.”  
Ronan couldn’t control himself and bursted our laughing.  
“You guys are like a scene from a bad sitcom,” he managed to get out,” Give me your controller, Gansey. I show you how to win a race.”  
Ronan jumped over the backrest and fished the controller out of Gansey’s lap.  
“Hey, Ronan. Didn’t here you coming!”  
“Did you apologize to Adam?”  
“Oh yes! What did Alex say?”  
“Oh my god Gansey! His name is Adam! Say his name wrong one more time and I will throw you out of the window.”  
Gansey started laughing.  
“Okay okay, so what did Adam say?”  
Noah sat down next to Ronan and looked at him expectantly. They were all excited.  
“Well, I apologized,” Ronan simply said. He liked to tease his friends.  
“And?”  
“And then we talked.”  
“And?” Blue rose an eyebrow.  
“He is also a student at the Aglionby.”  
“Oh, cool! Did he tell you more? God, Ronan stop the teasing and just tell us what happened,” Gansey whines.  
“We will meet up after school on Monday. You’re happy now?“  
His friends’ eyes widened.  
“Oh my god, my little boy is finally growing up and getting the attention from the boys,” Noah squealed and put an arm around Ronan’s shoulder.  
“Ew, stop that.”  
Ronan tried to free himself from Noah only to end up in Gansey’s arms.  
“So will you let me tie your tie and iron your school uniform? You need to look good on your date,” he laughed into Ronan’s ear.  
“Stop! First of all it’s not a date and second I always look good.”  
But Ronan had to laugh too. He was happy to be here. Squeezed in between his friends talking about a boy he might adore and for once not thinking about what will happen in the future. Ronan was happy. The world granted him a moment of relief. A moment of sunshine in which he felt light as a feather, as if he could fly away any second. He didn’t get this a lot so he learned to savour every single glimpse of it. So that when the darkness was taking over again he could light up a million candles and dance in their light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a short flower shop au but then i wrote nearly 5k words and Ronan and Adam haven't even been freinds yet. So i hope you guys stick around to find out what will happen to these idiots. also idk how many chapters this fic will have but there will probably be 2 more chapters after this. I will be uploading irregular but I promise I will not neglect this fic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a playlist for this fanfic if you are interested here is the link :3
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ewpK7uyKI6Ffn6RcCAxYK?si=nFzNjSo_QVS3cdgUk04lDg

When Adam arrived at the dorm he could already hear his roommate in the hallway. Or rather his best friend. He sighed. Nothing stressed him more than having to be in the same room as them. They were unpredictable and made him uncomfortable. On a normal day he would have ignored them or even waited in the park until they left. But today he just wanted to go to bed. He wanted to think about Ronan. About what happened at the flower shop.

With a shattered sigh he opened the door to hell. Adam was greeted by a musty and sticky cloud. The room was hot. Uncomfortably his eyes looked around the room. First they stopped at the closed windows and then flicked over to Prokopenko’s bed. He froze to a statue. He shouldn’t be surprised by the sight. He had walked in on these two doing way worse, but it still made the blood in his veins thickening. Kavinsky and Prokopenko sat on the latter’s bed, laptop between their legs with some kind of porn on. Adam thanked all the gods above that they still had their pants on but a bulge was visible in both of their pants. Adam had to go, quickly. 

Kavinsky looked up from the laptop with a sly smile on his face.  
“Oh look who came home. It’s the little maidservant.”  
The taste in Adam’s mouth went sour.  
“Hi,” he mumbled.  
“Do you want to join us? Prokopenko download the good shit this time,” Kavinsky invited him, but it sounded more like a threat, “join or we tell everyone that you are a pussy.”  
“No, I just need to get this.”  
Adam grabbed a book from his desk and shoved it into his backpack. 

He mumbled a short bye and ran out the room. As he closed the door he could hear Kavinsky say something to Prokopenko about Adam being a wimp. From the other side Adam heard them laugh but he tried not to think about it too much. His hands were still sweaty and he rubbed them again his jeans. He took two deep breaths and tried to cool his heart down. He didn’t have a lot of options now. It was already too late for the park and he didn’t have friends were he could stay over. His only option was the school library. He shouldered his backpack and quietly walked over to the imposing building. 

The library was quiet. Usually there were a few students sitting on the tables studying, reading or quietly talking. Today the library was empty.  
It didn’t surprise Adam, after all it was Friday and who would possibly start their weekend with studying? Adam’s gaze wandered around the room and stopped when he spotted Noah who was sitting behind the counter. Noah wasn’t really what you could call a friend but he was always friendly to Adam. Noah looked up from the book he was reading and smiled. 

“I didn’t expect to see anyone here today,” Noah said with a chuckle.  
Long time ago Noah had told Adam that he took the later shifts on Friday at the library because then he had the whole building to himself.  
“My mind has more room to think then,” he had said with a grin on his face.  
Adam hadn’t questioned Noah simply because he didn’t care. But now that he stood in the entrance of the library he understood. It felt like his mind extended and he had suddenly room for all his thoughts. 

“I can leave if you want me to,” Adam replied even though he didn’t want to.  
“No, it’s okay. I like your company,” Noah made a gesture around the room,” You don’t minimize my mind palace. Take a seat where ever you want.”  
Adam dropped down on to a couch next to the counter. They clouded themselves in silence for awhile, both running after their various thoughts.  
“So why are you here, Adam? Don’t tell me you came here just so you could sit next to my glorious figure.”

Noah had put his book down and was now sitting in front of Adam. Adam must have zoned out because he couldn’t remember when this happened.  
He shrugged his shoulders, not sure if he was in the mood for this conversation.  
“Well, you don’t have to tell me. I thought I just check in on you.” 

Noah looked at him with genuine concern in his eyes.  
Adam felt miserable. So he just told Noah everything starting from meeting Ronan and ending it with escaping his room.  
After he finished his chest lifted. It was easier to breathe now. 

“Sounds like a lot for one day,” Noah said. He plopped down next to Adam.  
“Yeah, I think I just need to think about it for a while. Process everything that happened today and not return to my room until tomorrow.”  
Noah nodded with a knowing smile on his face.  
“Understandable. Well you can stay here if you want to but you have to promise me you’ll be gone tomorrow before the library opens again. We don’t want to get in trouble, do we?”  
Adam smiled. This was more than he hoped for. Staying at the library over night surly wasn’t the best plan since there was a risk of him getting caught. But his other option was to go back to his room and deal with whoever was still in there. He rather took the risk even if he ended up in detention. 

“Thank you. I promise I’ll be gone before anyone will notice that I was here.”  
“Okay. The library opens at 6 o’clock. Here are the keys, you have to close the doors. Oh, and one more thing, Adam, don’t think about this too much. After all Ronan is only a boy and your roommate is human too. It eventually passes.”  
Noah han Adam the keys and lightly squeezed Adam’s arm. Then he packs his stuff and left Adam to his thoughts. 

Adam did as Noah told him and closed the doors. Then he turned off the lights and laid down on the couch. He quickly set an alarm for the next day. Then it was quiet. 

His mind started the thinking without his approval. It’s starts with the sad realization that Noah was really his only “friend”. But to Adam’s surprise he was okay with this. Noah was okay and surprisingly understanding. It felt weird at first that Noah would let him stay here. But it’s whatever, Adam guessed.  
Then he’s mind stopped by Ronan and once it got there it never stopped. 

He had been thinking about Ronan before. About all of him. But know he was wondering why he showed up at the flower shop. And most of all why did he want to meet a boy like Adam?  
He rolled over on to his side. He could hardly believe that Ronan could possibly like him.  
Maybe he just wanted to meet me to ease his mind, Adam thought. 

Then his brain showed him a really detailed picture of Ronan. How he stood in the flower shop. The tattoo that danced around his neck and hid under his tank top. Adam wondered what it would look like as a whole. He didn’t saw it when they first met so it left an indelible expression on him. It made him curious about who Ronan was. The last thing Adam thought about before drifting off to sleep were Ronan’s blue eyes and the promise that he will see them again.  
— — — — 

Monday came around way faster than Ronan expected. He had spent his weekend with his little brother. Time was running out and now all the time they could spend together was way too precious, so he rather did not waste it. 

Ronan found himself wondering if he would feel empty once his brother left. Thinking about it already made his chest ache. It was a tough task to distract himself. But there weren’t many things he could turn to since he promised Gansey not to race and drink anymore. He already broke that promise before and Ronan wasn’t really proud of it. This time he would keep it. So he tried talking to Gansey but his passion for a certain dead welsh king made Ronan want to scream. And so his thoughts would wander off mid conversation and he was back thinking about living without his brother. 

And while he was stuck listening to Gansey and thinking about losing his little sunshine he didn’t realize the rest of the weekend was over. Which meant he had no time to prepare anything for his meeting with Adam. Then again who cared?  
After all they would just be hanging out after class for a while. It’s not a big deal.

Or so he thought because as soon as Ronan entered the school building he kept looking around for Adam. He was pretty obvious and he knew it, which was not because Gansey kept teasing him about it, but more because he stumbled over his own feet and walking into other students.  
The end of the school day couldn’t come any faster. He didn’t really pay attention to anything his teachers said. He half assed Latin, which was the only class he enjoyed. He almost ran out of class and to the little park when he heard the bell ring.  
He didn’t wait for Gansey. He needed to see Adam now. It was an undying need that evoke in his body and made him terrified and happy at the same time. 

Ronan was out of breath when he reached the little park.  
Adam was nowhere in sight and the realization, that he for once, was the first to show up somewhere hit him like a stone.  
Nervous tickles ran through his body and made him feel restless. He tried to tell himself that Adam would be there soon. That he didn’t necklace him and that he was a responsible student who probably asked the teachers questions after class.  
It calmed his mind but didn’t stop his running heart beat. 

Then he spotted Adam’s messy hair near the school building, fighting his way out of the crowd. Finally.  
It took Adam some time to get to where Ronan was and when he finally met him he raised his hand for a little wave. 

“Hi.”  
God, hearing Adam’s voice felt so good.  
“Hey, how’s it going?”  
Small talk wasn’t really Ronan’s thing but it was better than nothing, right?  
And so they exchanged some meaningless words. But it didn’t feel forced and so their conversation soon became something real.  
“So you work after school? On every week day?”, Ronan asked.  
“Usually. But the work at the garage is inconsistent. I only work when there is work.”  
“You’re good with cars?”  
“Probably better than with humans.”  
There was a smile on Adam’s face, but Ronan knew what a self-pitying joke looked like. They’ve been walking through the park for a while now. It was unusually empty, not that Ronan really knew, but he could only see a few students. Adam had told him that on Mondays the students met all up in the library and with every passing weekday the library emptied and the park filled. 

“What do you do after classes?”, Adam finally said.  
“Not much. I meet up with my younger brother or hang out with my friends. You know, just the things rich wankers do.”  
Ronan could see that Adam rolled his eyes and it made him smirk.  
“So your parents pay for your education then? What do they do for a living? Are they lawyers or are they famous?”  
The smile rolled of his face and with a suddenly serious voice Ronan said:  
”My parents are dead.”  
An uncomfortable silence laid over them and Ronan wanted to punch himself. Why would he just drop that? Was he insane?  
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”, Adam stuttered.  
“No, don’t apologize. How could you’ve known? Just forget it. I don’t even know why I just said that.”

The silence continued afterwards and Ronan hated himself for it. Why couldn’t he just shut up for once? Why did he always have to force his tragic past onto everyone? 

“Uhm so you have a little brother? Where do you live?”, Adam said and offered Ronan a way to change the topic. Ronan clinched to it as if it were a parachute.  
“I live with one of my friends and Matthew, my little brother, lives with our older brother.”, Ronan explained.  
He tried hard not to think about the whole moving aspect and so it was easier to talk about it.  
“Why don’t you live with them?”, Adam asked, making it obvious that he was curious and wanted to know more. 

Ronan sighed. He really didn’t mean to drag Adam into his chaos but if he asked like that and since he had been this honest, Ronan might as well just tell him the rest too.  
“Declan and I don’t get a long very well. We never did. I don’t know why. We just kinda always fight. And so I decided to move in with Gansey. It’s better for all of us. I mean it isn’t fair to Matthew if he has to watch his brothers constantly beat each other up over minor things.”  
Adam nodded his head in agreement.  
“I understand.”  
“I still try to spend a lot of time with Matthew. He is like a little sunshine and a much better person than all of us. He only deserves the best, unlike me.“

The last bit came out as a small whisper and Ronan hoped that Adam didn’t hear him.  
He tilted his head to check Adam’s face, to see his reaction, but Adam was good at hiding what he thought.  
“I’m sure he’s glad to have you as his brother.”  
After that neither of them said anything. They just walked next to each other in silence, but this time it was the least awkward. They just enjoyed the other’s company and Ronan found that he liked this. 

But the comfort of the moment was soon destroyed. From far away Ronan could already see them and before he could do anything, to prevent what came next, Kavinsky and his gang caught up with them.  
“Hey, princess! Oh look, the little princess is out with the maidservant.”, Kavinsky teased.  
Ronan could feel Adam tense next to him. That and the fact that Kavinsky never shut up let the blood in Ronan’s veins boil. He took a step forward so that he became a shield to Adam.  
“Shut up, K.”, he growled.  
“Come on, Ronan. Don’t be such a loser. We missed you at the spot last night. Are you scared you won’t win again?”  
The way Ronan wished Kavinsk would just shut up.  
“We both know I win against you anytime. Besides your the one who is a loser here. So fuck off, would ya!”

“Easy, princess. You could have just told us you were on a date and we would have been gone.”  
Kavinsky raised his arms in defence but on his face was a big, dirty smile.  
If Adam wasn’t right behind him, Ronan might have lost his temper and nocked some of Kavinsky’s teeth out. Instead he narrowed his eyes and watched them leave.  
Adam emerged from behind Ronan’s back. He had his head tilted to the side and stared at Ronan’s shoulder.

“So you are friends with them?”, he hesitantly asked.  
“I am not. They are the opposite of friendly. They are unfriendly. As in, don’t be friends with them.”  
Ronan let his hand rub over his face and a deep sigh escaped from his chest.  
“Sorry, if I knew that we would have met them here I would have taken you somewhere else.”, he said in a rush.

“Oh no, it’s okay. I mean one of Kavinsky’s friends is my roommate, so I inevitably have to meet them all the time. I just thought, you were friends with them and could maybe talk to them. Because lately they block the room for hours and I really don’t want to be there when they are. But whatever.”  
Ronan wanted to kill Kavinsky.  
“It’s better you stay away from them. They usually mean trouble, but I’ll let Kavinsky know that he shouldn’t mess with you.”  
“Thanks, I guess.”

They had spent so much time together that they didn’t notice that the sun slowly started to set. Adam was the first to notice.  
“Hey, I should probably get back to my room and start doing my homework.”  
“Oh yeah, sure. Wait I bring you back to your dorm.”, Ronan responded not knowing the weight of his words.

When they reached the dorm building they awkwardly stood in front of the entrance.  
“This was nice. Maybe, uhm, you know tomorrow I have to work but I have an hour between school and work. What I’m trying to say is, do you want to spend time with me then? I mean only if you want.”, Adam stumbled over his words.  
Even Ronan was surprised. He didn’t think Adam would voluntarily spend more time with him and that’s why he didn’t answer right away.  
“You don’t-“

“No, I want to spend time with you. So tomorrow after classes. I’ll be waiting at the gates, okay?”  
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Bye.”  
Adam waved his hand and opened the glass door.  
Ronan just watched him get inside and inaudible said: “Bye, Adam.”  
He stood there for a long time. He just couldn’t wrap his head around what just happened. Maybe wonders do exist, he thought as he got back to his BMW.  
— — — —

Ronan leaned against the entrance gate of the Aglionby Academy and waited for Adam like he had promised. Today he wasn’t that jittery. Maybe school had something good after all if he got to meet Adam. 

“Hey Ronan!”, Adam jogged the last bit until he caught up with Ronan. When he stopped he crossed his arms in front of his chest. He looked quiet uneasy.  
“Hey.”, Ronan responded and pulled himself off of the wall.  
It’s the second day in a row that he attended school. This shouldn’t be a surprise but lately it was a new record for Ronan. And if it weren’t for Adam he might not even be here. 

Adam, Ronan thought, at least I got to see him. 

Just like yesterday they started to talk about various things. They talked about school and that Adam wanted to go to Harvard. Ronan didn’t voice his wish for the future, because for now he didn’t know what he wanted. But Ronan told Adam about the barns, the place he used to live in and how he missed being around animals. In return Adam told him about his jobs and that the flower shop and the garage by far his favourite were. 

“So you are telling me that you’ve never watched ‘back to the future’?”, Adam was outraged.  
“Sorry, Mister I-only-watch-old-movies. No I did not watch this one.”  
Adam shook his head.  
“We have to change that. One day I will make you watch ‘back to the future’ and you will like it.”  
“Is that a promise or a threat?”  
“Both.”, Adam said through a smile which Ronan returned.  
“Okay, but did you watch studio ghibli movies as a child?“, was Adam’s next question.  
“What makes you think I ever stopped?”  
“I don’t know. But oh my god, what’s your favourite movie?!”  
Adam’s eyes sparkled with joy, just like when you gave a child candy. It was hard for Ronan to hide the smile on his face.  
“Actually this movie is really underrated, but ‘castle in the sky’. And no, I don’t care what you have to say about it.”  
“I wasn’t gonna say anything, because you are right. That movie is underrated!”, Adam said,”But still mine is ‘Princess Mononoke’. I’m not even sorry about it.” 

They continued talking like this for a while. And Ronan enjoyed every single second of it.  
He didn’t want this moment to end. But a glaze over to his clock told him that time was running out since Adam had to attend work soon. Desperate to find a way to spend more time together with Adam he said:”Hey, I could drive you to work, y’know. I mean only if you want me to.”  
Ronan scratched the back of his head looking anywhere but Adam. 

A knowing smile appeared on Adam’s lips. The want to spend every giving minute, second, was a mutual feeling and so Adam agreed.  
It was a quick drive to Adam’s work place. ‘Danny’s car care’ wasn’t that far away from the school. So soon they found themselves sitting in the car starring at the garage. 

“Uhm thanks for driving me here, I guess.”  
Adam fiddled with his jacket pocket.  
Why did their goodbyes always have to this awkward?  
“No, don’t thank me. It’s okay.”, Ronan blurred out. He was nervously tapping his fingers on the wheel.  
“Guess I see you in school then, right?”  
“Right.”  
They smiled at each other. Then Adam picked up his backpack and opened the car door.  
“See ya!”, he said and shut the door.  
Ronan awkwardly waved his hand, when his eyes spotted a piece of paper on the seat Adam had set on, only seconds ago.  
Carefully he reached out to it. The paper was neatly folded in the middle. Had Adam lost this?  
No way, so that meant he placed it there on purpose. 

Ronan flicked the paper open and couldn’t believe his eyes. In a messy handwriting it said: “call me maybe” with a number written under it. His heart skipped a beat.  
Ronan had just gotten the number from the boy he might like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay sorry that I kept you all waiting for this one. But quarantine killed my creativity and motivation and when I was finally motivated again I had to work non stop. Anyway I’m back with this chapter that took me way longer to write than it should have.  
> But I promise the next chapter with be out sooner than this one, because I already wrote something for it (watch me saying this now but then I make you wait half a year again)  
> I tried to make paragraphs this time. It didn’t work for the first chapter and I still haven’t figured out why so I guess we have to live with that now.  
> If you are interested in more extra content for this fanfic you can follow my tumblr 
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/deadlycupid
> 
> Anyway I hope you are doing fine and had a good start into 2021. 
> 
> Stay safe and healthy!


End file.
